The After Effect
by MollyBelikova
Summary: What happens if Rose not only pulled darkness but magic too. RESTARTED STORY. On a new story as the other one was very glitchy!
1. Chapter 1

The After Effect- Chapter 1

Hi guys! I haven't written for a long time but am easing back into it. I started this story years ago and never finished it, and stumbled across it, so here is a rewrite of it! This story is kind of a mash-up between books, it doesn't really have a set place as it's after Lissa has problems with spirit but before anything happens between Rose and Dimitri. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it.

It was just a regular day at St. Vlads, Lissa was off with some stupid girls being friendly and well, Lissa, and I was in my room getting ready for a training session with my mentor Dimitri. As I was packing my gym bag I sent feelers across our bond to check on her, something that I did many times a day after the problems she had last year, but to my relief I could tell she hadn't been having any of those feelings for a while now, something that made me so relieved. To tell the truth, I felt of it as a bit of a burden, always having to be wary and checking up on her, but then again, she was my best friend, and not only that I was her guardian, so it had to be done.  
Thankfully, I felt she was in a happy mood. She was pleased that she was with people who liked her for who she was (who wouldn't like her though, seriously!), and was just heading to her magic class. I pulled back into my head, finished getting ready, and headed out the door towards the gym.  
As I walked through the busy courtyard with other students hurrying to their next class, I felt glad I was here for once, a very unusual thought for me. However much I enjoyed being on our own in the real world, I appreciated the security that St. Vlads offered, for if Lissa went all crazy again I knew I had people that would help, and it was also great that she had people helping her understand what spirit was.

If we had stayed in the real world perhaps, we would have never even found out the powers she had, let alone what they were called. It was also great for me. As much as I hate to admit it, If Lissa and I had really been faced with a Strigoi, despite me laying my life down for her, I don't think we would have survived it, but now I was confident that I would get her out of that sort of situation unscathed, and that was all down to Dimitri, who had helped me so much. Dimitri had become my best friend. I'd spent so much time with him, learnt to trust him, and I felt like he was the only one that really understood me. Yes, I was shadow-kissed and best friends with Lissa, but sometimes I felt like she just didn't get me at times, yet he did. Not to mention he was hella cute, not something you should be thinking about your teacher.

I stepped into the gym and saw him in the corner with his back turned to me, fiddling with something on the ground. Well, this was a perfect opportunity for a sneak attack! I crept around silently and was within arms distance without him spotting. Score! This was further than I had got to before, he must be distracted! My body was tense and ready to pounce. I was going to go for his left side and try to put my leg through his legs, hopefully tumbling him to the ground where I could stake him, but just milliseconds before I moved, he swung round, and then I was all of a sudden on the floor. 'Damn' I said under my breath as his smell circled me, embracing me as it went, intoxicating me. He had pinned me on the floor, hands pinning down my wrists and his legs on top of mine, stopping me from getting up, not that I wanted to! I looked into his eyes, and I may be wrong here, but it looked as if I had the same effect on him as he did me. Surely not? His eyes looked straight at mine, dark and mysterious, yet there was a different kind of look to them, softer and wanting. I was immediately aware of his body pressed up against mine, neither of us wanting to move. His lips were so close to mine, slightly parted. Man did they look good, but all of a sudden, he got up and turned his back to me as if he was embarrassed or hiding something. 'Nice try Rose' he said. I was sure his accent was stronger than normal. Maybe I did have an effect on him.

'I knew you were there from the door, you put your bag down outside, go get it'. I rolled my eyes but did as he said. How was he this good! 'And then go run 5 miles, and if you're not back in half an hour you can do another 5.' God, no messing around today then I thought as I set off out the door.

I ran back through the door at 26 minutes, bright red, sweaty, and out of breath. Man did I look attractive, not! 'Well done Rose' he said as I came in, 'that's better than I thought you would do' and he walked towards me. As he did, I saw what he had been fiddling with at the start of the session, a large speaker, with an iPod attached to it. 'As a treat, you can pick the music that we spar to, I already had my playlist ready to go in case you didn't make it.'

'Gee thanks comrade' I replied. 'That's some faith you have in me'

'Hey it was a hard task I gave you' he said with a smirk on his face. I chose some modern songs with a loud bass line, and turned it up until it would have been clearly audible from outside the gym, and walked back to get into position opposite him. We sparred for 45 minutes until both of us were drenched in sweat and exhausted, I was rather proud of myself, as although I didn't win once, I certainly gave him a good run for his money. We were in the last round now, and the fighting was getting shoddy because we were both tired. I threw a punch to his shoulder but he easily blocked me and swung for me. Now if I hadn't been tired, I would have blocked this easily, but I was exhausted, and so his large fist came towards me, catching my cheek. The pain was blinding and I fell to the floor, partly in shock, partly because of the force of the hit. 'Oh god Roza, Roza I am so sorry' he exclaimed, jumping down next to me immediately, positioning himself at my side and cradling my body in his big arms. He held me into his body, whispering in Russian. 'It's ok Dimitri' I whispered out with my eyes still shut.

The pain was beginning to ease a bit now after the shock wore off, but there was still a dull throb to the left side of my cheek. 'We should have stopped sooner Roza, I didn't realise how tired you were' Dimitri said, his voice almost a whisper straight into my ear, only just audible over the loud music. He held me tight, and as much as I enjoyed it, I didn't want to seem weak in front of him, so shrugged him off and stood up with his help. The world spun for a bit but gradually straightened, and he went to turn off the music. Once it was off the gym seemed so silent, just the two of us in it, as the rest of the dhampirs were training separate from us outside. He came up to me again and gently brushed my cheek. I winced with the contact to it, and pain flashed across his face. 'I'm so, so sorry Roza' he said again with his head hung low. I lifted my hand to his cheek and lifted his head upward so he was looking at me again. 'Really it's ok Dimitri, this kinda stuff happens in training, we know that.'

'I know but it's you, Rose. It's you that I have hurt and that is unforgivable'. Our faces were so close together now, the two of us barely whispering. I noticed his eyes flash down to my lips. Was he thinking the same thing as I was? When his eyes moved back up to meet mine, I could tell he was from the look of lust in them. I moved forward, even closer to him, his smell, just being near him was intoxicating, let alone this close to him. He looked again at my lips and moved closer, moving his head down as he did, and pressed his lips up against mine so gently, as if it were not really happening again, and then pulled back, as if unsure what he just did.

I placed one hand on his waist, and it was like a fire had ignited between the two of us. He leaned down once again, and kissed me, this time more firmly, but still so gentle. He only stayed there a few seconds, neither of us moving, the kiss not developing, but it was sweet and innocent. He pulled back and looked at me again, still neither of us speaking, but this time his eyes looked different. They had a warm look to them, was it a look of love? 'I…I'm sorry' he whispered again and stepped back. The moment was well and truly over now. 'Dimitri? Honestly, I don't want you to be sorry for anything' I replied. 'Not for the accident because that was what it is, and certainly not for what just happened then', and to make my point I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his body, burying my head into his chest. I felt his lips on the top of my head. 'You are a wonderful person Roza' he whispered, his voice deep and accented, and then he walked back to the changing rooms.

As I walked back to my dorm, I was so glad that our session had run over, and the other students were in their next classes, I certainly didn't want people ogling my face, I presumed it looked as bad as it felt. When I walked into my room and threw my gym bag on the floor, I went straight to the mirror at my desk. I sat down, but before I had the chance to inspect my face better, I felt something strange through the bond. Lissa was not happy. Not happy at all. I delved further into it and realised that there was a huge chunk of darkness in her head, that was making her act out. I sighed to myself knowing what had to be done. She must have worked too hard in her magic class. I moved to my bed and readied myself for what was to be done. Once I felt I was as prepared as I could be, I reached into her mind, pulling as I went, so to take away the darkness. I felt myself getting angrier and angrier as I went, not too sure how much more I could take before I went into a huge and dangerous rage like had happened before, when all of a sudden, the rage vanished. Vanished as if it had never even been there before.

'Now that is strange' I thought, maybe I had dropped it all back into her? It had never happened before, but then again there's always something new with the bond that is happening because it is so rare. I pulled away for her completely, and now being in my head the feeling of rage was not only gone but was replaced with another strange feeling, this one being warm and pleasant. I had never felt it before, but somehow it felt oddly familiar as if I had seen it before. I stood up, ready to steady myself should the rage hit me, but it didn't. I sat back down at my desk, catching a look at my face as I did. It was already hugely swollen and purple, imagine how it will look tomorrow I thought.  
I slowly ran my fingers over it, feeling the warm pleasant feeling again as I did so when I noticed that as I moved my fingers the bruising was becoming less noticeable. I immediately whisked my hand away from my face. No. This was just not possible. 'Now I know where I have felt this feeling before' I realised. This was the feeling Lissa had when she used magic. 'I am in serious trouble now' I said aloud. I moved my hand back to my face again, unable to resist, but this time I kept it there longer, enjoying the feeling.

It gradually began to subside, and my face was back to normal. It was as if I had never even been hit before. The was something seriously wrong with me, and the scariest thing was that I couldn't tell anyone. Not even Lissa. If they found out somehow, what would they do to me? Imprison me? Kill me? Experiment on me? No. This was going to stay a secret, and if it was, there was only one person I could safely tell. One person who no-one would expect I told. 'I need to find Dimitri' I whispered.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! There are still a lot of similarities to the previous attempt at this story, but I wanted to change the whole timeline, and I just couldn't work out how to do that without rewriting the whole thing! Hope you all don't mind too much! As always, please review or send me a message, I love hearing from you guys!

Molly x


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Here is the next chapter as promised, that you for all the lovely reviews, they make my day! Enjoy.**

'_No. This was going to stay a secret, and if it was, there was only one person I could safely tell. One person who no-one would expect I told. 'I need to find Dimitri' I whispered.'_

I stood up from my chair and went straight out of the door, not even bothering to take anything with me. I was really hoping that Dimitri was still in the gym, and not taking another class. With the time I had spent in my room, it was the end of 5th period, which meant it was time for our evening meal, so whilst there were people about it wasn't too busy, and hopefully, this meant Dimitri was free.

I walked into the gym and was immediately disappointed, no Dimitri here. I walked a bit further in, on my way to check the changing rooms when I heard a guy singing softly in the shower. 'Dimitri?' I called, and the singing stopped abruptly.

'Is that you Rose?' a voice replied.

'Yeah, I need to talk to you' I said, a slight wobble to my voice this time, however much I tried to disguise it. 'Can't it wait Rose' Dimitri asked. 'I am actually in the shower and I don't think it's really appropriate…'

I cut him off quickly. 'No, it can't' I said, now unable to hide the wobble in my voice, as a tear made its way slowly down my perfectly fine cheek. I heard the water stop but he didn't emerge from behind the shower division.

'Err Rose' he stuttered, 'I'm going to need you to hand me a towel, I don't normally plan for interruptions in my showers…' He sounded very awkward and slightly embarrassed, something that I had never heard in his voice before. I walked over to the towel rack where his clothes were folded neatly underneath and took the one off the hook above them. I walked over to the cubicle and passed it over the top of the door. He came out with it on, and for a minute I forgot all my problems.

His muscly torso had little droplets of water from the shower, and he looked just… well just phenomenal. However nice the sight was, my problems came rushing back, and yet another tear fell. He saw this one and came closer, a look of pain on his face. 'Roza what's wr…' he stopped abruptly, and the look of pain was replaced by one of confusion. 'Your cheek?' he asked, and brought his hand up to gently stroke it. 'I saw it earlier, and I knew it would be a bad one, it was already swollen and discoloured when you left here Roza' he whispered, possibly more to himself than me.

'That's what I need to talk to you about Comrade' I said softly. We sat down on the bench next to his clothes, and I told him what had happened earlier. 'So, you healed yourself by accident?' he asked.

'Yeah, it just kinda happened when I went to take away the darkness' I replied.

'This is a problem.' He said, 'I didn't even know that was a thing with shadow kissed pairs.

'Neither did I' I sobbed, unable to hide the tears at this point. He leaned forward and wrapped his large arms around me, pulling me into his chest and embracing me with his whole body, and I cried, unable to keep in my emotions.

After I had cried for what felt like an hour, I became acutely aware of his lack of clothing and the fact that I was embraced against his bare skin. I would have never thought this would happen, but the fact that he hadn't moved, despite me stopping crying, and that it was going on for much longer than a friendly hug, showed he was enjoying it too. I lifted my head to meet his eyes, and he wiped a lingering tear from my face with his thumb, a move so tender it made me want to cry all over again.

'I'm sorry' I said, bowing my head, embarrassed by the fact I just cried, something that I never did in front of people.

'Don't be' he replied, 'but we do need to think of a way to deal with this. You can't tell anyone else about this, not even Lissa' he said.

'I know Dimitri' I whispered.

'The royal Moroi might see it as stealing, and we already know how unapproving they were about the whole spirit/shadow kissed thing, I imagine they would be even less receptive of this because you are a Dhampir and we do not get magic' he said with seriousness to his voice. I nodded, the overwhelming truth hitting me, I hadn't even considered it like that. 'But just remember Roza' he added, 'I will always protect you over anyone, which is wrong, but I can't help myself'. He had never said this to me, and it was the first real thing he had said that showed he valued me just as much as I valued him. It seemed to light a spark inside me, and all I could think about was Dimitri. I forgot about my problems, about Lissa, about everything but what was happening now between him and me, and I leaned forward and pushed my lips up against his. He responded immediately as if he had been wanting to do the same thing. This kiss was much more intense, a need was behind it, and we were both recognising it.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around me once more, but this time it was much firmer and more forceful. He pulled me up against him, feeling the need to close what little distance was left between us, and I intensified the kiss, running my tongue against his lips, opening them up. It seemed like that broke down any remaining barriers, and he lifted me on top of him so I was straddling him on the bench, and we both explored each other's mouths. This was the first proper kiss we had shared, and man did I wish I had done it sooner. I bit down gently on his lip and heard him growl in response. 'Roza the things you do to me' He said in a deep, accented voice. The kiss gradually ended and I rested my head on his shoulder as he slowly kissed my neck.

'I…I think I love you Dimitri' I said, nervous but yet wanting to express myself at the same time.

'I know I love you Roza' he replied in a lusty voice. 'But this should not be happening, I should not be loving one of my students.' I lifted my head and looked deep into his eyes, a sudden sadness filling my heart. 'But I just can't help it' he continued. 'I admired you since the day we first met Roza. How you didn't think about yourself when we came to get you and the princess, you just fought despite the odds. And then you have worked so hard to get back to the top, and are truly the best we have here, despite your time out of education. And most of all Roza, I love just how much you care and look after people, however much you may hide it, I see the real you that would do anything for someone she loves.'

I was truly taken aback by what he said. Had he been longing after me for as long as I had been him? He was twirling his hand around my hair behind my back and this moment felt so precious, so perfect that I just wanted it to last forever but we both knew that the clock was ticking, and there would be dhampirs that wanted to do some extra work in the gym after they had eaten, and so I begrudgingly shuffled off him. 'Roza, if you ever need me, come straight to my room in the staff wing, second-floor room C.' I nodded in reply, and he caught my hand, wrapping his large one around my small one. We walked to the exit in the gym hand in hand, before looking at each other in the eyes and letting go. He planted a small kiss on my forehead before we walked out into the school as if nothing had happened. And then it hit.

**Thank you for reading guys! As always please review as I love hearing from you all. That chapter was very Rose/Dimitri centred but I just couldn't help myself lol! Hope you all enjoyed the quick update; this story is just so much fun to write!**

**Molly x**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'He planted a small kiss on my forehead before we walked out into the school as if nothing had happened. And then it hit.'

All of a sudden, I was filled with white hot rage that overwhelmed and overpowered me. I started shaking and trying to scream but no sound came out. I turned to look at Dimitri and I couldn't see love anymore, just hate. I didn't know what he had done, but it must have been bad to give me this feeling. I immediately started hitting him and screaming and kicking, doing anything in my power to express how I felt. He dragged me back into the gym, trying to defend his face as he did so as I tried to hurt him in any way possible. He was really struggling to keep hold of me as I was fuelled by something else and wasn't hindered by emotions. Eventually he managed to pin me down on the floor, my arms and legs flailing, still trying to get a hit at him. After a while I stopped trying to attack him, and instead just shuddered on the floor with my eyes closed. I think this scared him more than anything and he kept trying to talk to me and bring me out of my fit. He gently moved me so my head was protected and gradually the fit subsided. I was sweaty and exhausted. I felt like I had just run a marathon and got hit by a truck at the same time. 'We need to get you to the infirmary' he said, and lifted me up in his arms.

I barely remembered the walk to the infirmary as I kept drifting in and out of consciousness, but I was jolted awake when he put me on a ward bed and the nurse came up and did some tests. 'She's obviously had a fit' the nurse murmured. 'It's practically unheard of in dhampir's though'. I noticed that Alberta had joined Dimitri standing at the end of my bed, and they were both nodding along. Dimitri looked rather pale. 'Is she under a lot of stress?' the nurse asked them  
'We've been doing lots of training, and I suppose it is stressful trying to catch up in her studies' Dimitri replied.  
'Well unless this happens again, I think the cause of it is stress. I'm going to give her a mild sedative and an anti-seizure drug now, but she should be good to go by tomorrow'. With that news Alberta gave a nod and left, but Dimitri stayed by my side.

I woke up the next day feeling much better, but oh my god I was starving. I noticed the light outside through the tinted windows of my room and was disappointed as I wouldn't be able to get food. I turned my head and saw Dimitri in the chair at the corner of the room. He had fallen asleep in it. I swivelled my feet onto the floor and gingerly stood up, but nothing happened and so I walked over towards him. I gently stroked his hair and placed a small kiss on his forehead. This obviously woke him up as he began to stir and opened his eyes. 'Roza you shouldn't be up' he whispered.  
'I know but I'm starving Dimitri, and anyway I feel fine now.' He rolled his eyes.  
'Your always hungry Roza' he said with a smirk on his face. 'Come on then'.

We walked out of my little room and went over to the main desk. There was no one there so Dimitri wrote a note saying he had taken me out for some food and that I was now much better. 'The kitchens won't be open now' he said, 'So we will have to go back to my room if you don't mind'. Mind? Of course, I wouldn't mind going back to his room, but I just nodded.

Although it was daylight so nobody would be up Dimitri was still cautious and we kept our distance, but once we entered the staff housing, he reached and took hold of my hand. He opened the door to his room, and sat me down on the bed, before going to the little kitchen in a side room. He came back a minute later with four slices of toast with butter on, and I started eating hungrily. 'I've never been so scared in my life' he said quietly. I paused and swallowed the toast in my mouth, then held his hand again, giving it a slight squeeze. 'I'm sorry' I replied, and began eating again.  
'I've taken on 3 Strigoi at once Roza, I didn't think I would make it out of that, but I was still not as scared as I was yesterday. I really thought I was going to lose you'. He had a soft look to his face, it was warm and gentle and relaxed, yet you could see the fear in his eyes as he relived the events of yesterday.

'I really don't know what came over me comrade' I said, having demolished the toast. 'It was like the effects of darkness, but nothing like it at the same time. It started with the feeling of rage like the darkness does, but then it became more of a physical thing, I felt like I was unable to move my body, like I was paralysed and in a trance. I really hope this isn't the next stage of my madness.' Instead of replying he moved closer to me and moved me back to lie next to him on the bed. He had one arm around my shoulders and I was snuggled up against his chest. He had buried his head into my hair, and wrapped his whole body around me, as if he was trying to close all distance possible between us. I felt the safest I had for a long time, and now no longer hungry, I fell asleep, and he did too.

I awoke to the sound of people outside the door. It was faint, but there were a lot of them moving around. I was still wrapped up against Dimitri and he was fast asleep. I rolled over and placed a kiss on his lips which began to wake me up. He hungrily deepened the kiss and opened his eyes, moving on top of me. I could feel every inch of him pressing me into the bed. Was it finally going to happen? Before anything else did happen, he noticed the sound of running feet outside the door. 'We'd better go see what is happening Roza' he sighed, a pained expression on his face. We stepped out at it was absolute panic. There were guardians running around everywhere. Dimitri stopped one and asked what was happening. 'Krov' the guardian shouted as he ran past, heading to the meeting room. I looked at Dimitri, his face pale, but I didn't need to ask.

'It means blood Rose. Strigoi have captured some of our Moroi'

I hope you enjoy that chapter! I apologise for any spelling errors, it hasn't been checked lol!


	4. Chapter 4

The After Effect- Chapter 4

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in this chapter, I've been busy moving house! (I also may or may not have re-read the whole VA series in 7 days…) As always let me know what you think of the story and thanks for reading!

'_It means blood Rose. Strigoi have captured some of our Moroi'_

How was this possible. The school had so many wards and guardians that it was one of the only places that was absolutely safe from Strigoi, where guardians felt comfortable to let Moroi walk around without guardians, even royalty, yet something had broken that. I looked at Dimitri for more answers but this time he didn't have any for me. Although there were guardians everywhere, he reached out and took my hand and started running towards the end of the corridor. I immediately went into Lissa's head, checking she was ok. She was thank goodness, but she was worries and scared and upset. She had known some of those that had been taken.

He pulled me into a large office room that had 12 guardians sat around a large table in the middle, and at least 15 guardians scattered around the walls listening to the conversation being had at the table. Dimitri let go of my hand, and walked to stand against one of the walls. The room was small, so we were very much part of the conversation. Sat at the head of the table was Alberta, with a deathly serious look on her face.

'For those who have joined us' she said, scanning her eyes around the room as we were not the only ones who had just come in, 'a large group of Moroi students and teachers, with 20 from the younger campus and another 20 from the upper campus have been taken by Strigoi. They were outside the academy wards doing a biology workshop, and whilst they had a significant amount of guards with them, there were too many Strigoi there. We know this because one of the guardians made it out with just a concussion and a few minor injuries and by the time he had come into consciousness the Strigoi had taken everybody alive.' Poor guardian I thought, imagine being the only one out alive. I shuddered at the thought.

The meeting went on for hours and gradually more and more guardians arrived. With the room as full as it was no-one seemed to notice that I was there, or if they did, they had bigger things to think about. There was going to be an increased security presence on campus, this was a given as we had not thought so many Strigoi had been lurking on the boundaries of the school. What was taking so long to decide however, was if they thought any of the captives would still be alive, and if it was worth sending out a rescue mission.

After another few hours they were still no closer to finding a solution and yet more guardians had entered. The room was so full Dimitri and I had been pushed to the back and there were many guardians in-front of us. The room was definitely over full capacity. As key figures in the discussion kept battling it out, I became acutely aware of Dimitri pressed up against my shoulder, his smell embracing me, and I relived the events of last night when I had been cuddled up against him. He very slowly curled his hand around mine, being very gentle so that nobody would notice. This was a risky move, but one that comforted us both, and we presumed no-one would notice.

The sun was beginning to rise and the meeting was still at the height of discussing. All of a sudden someone came running through the door and it was my mother. I wondered when she had got here. 'There's a survivor' she shouted. The room went deathly silent after all the arguing that had been going on.  
'Bring them in' commanded Alberta. In walked a slim Moroi teacher with short greying hair, whom I recognised as the biology teacher. She was pretty, but very pale, and I noticed two small puncture marks on the side of her neck. She looked like she was barely holding it together. One of the 12 stood up and offered her his chair, whilst someone brought her a hot drink. Alberta gently prompted her for her story.

'We started off just studying the flowers surrounding the academy, and we had near guardians stationed close in a protective circle, and guardians further away in another protective circle.' That was a classic guarding pattern used to guard large groups, one that was hard to break I thought. 'After about an hour we thought we should head back as the sun was beginning to go down, but then our expert noticed an especially rare flower, so we were delayed in leaving the woods, but the guardians thought it would be ok as we were not near anywhere that gave shelter from the sun. As we were about an hour drive away, we all filtered back on the bus, but when we counted the students, we realised that there was one missing. We sent out a team of guardians to look for him, and they found him after about half an hour, and so they brought him back and we were about to set off when the bus wouldn't start. A few guardians went out to check it, and then that's when it happened.' She was barely whispering at this point, but however hard it was for her to relieve the events Alberta prompted her to go on. We needed to know.

'There were 10 Strigoi that I saw, against our 7 that were out fixing the bus, and that battle lasted less than 5 minutes.' I winced, knowing that that was near impossible odds. 'We stayed on the bus as the guardians thought that was the most secure place, but we soon noticed smoke filling it, and we had to evacuate everyone off'. Smart tactics from the Strigoi, but they hadn't burnt people out of places for centuries. 'Once we were out it was chaos. The Strigoi weren't going for the Moroi unless we ran, and they were slowly getting rid of all the guardians. Eventually they loaded us into mini-vans and drove to a derelict building perhaps 10 minutes away. We were unloaded and they began to drink from us, but not kill us, and then they made me leave. They made me leave my students to come back her. They wanted me to tell you exactly what had happened.'

All the guardians faces in the room looked shocked at this. It had never happened. They were baiting us out. Alberta began to get the specifics from the teacher, and then someone came to take her to the feeders as she had lost a lot of blood. 'It is in my opinion that there are many Moroi still alive out there' announced Alberta, 'and we cannot leave them to die. I believe we should strike. Does anyone disagree?' she asked. The room was silent. Everyone was onboard. We would strike.

I hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter will be dramatic ;) I would love to hear any ideas you may have!

Molly


	5. Chapter 5

The After Effect chapter 5

'_Does anyone disagree?' she asked. The room was silent. Everyone was onboard. We would strike._

I was shocked. This moment would be written in the history books as the very first time us guardians actually went out to strike Strigoi, as opposed to just defending against them. It was a whirlwind of activity in the guardian block as everyone readied for the attack. It was decided that a group of 30 guardians would go out, and 40 would stay behind to guard the school. I was amazed at how quickly reinforcements were sent into the school.

I stayed with Dimitri the whole time, he had spoken to Alberta and they had agreed that I was good enough, so long as he stayed with me. It was an exiting opportunity to be trusted as a guardian, but yet terrifying as it was the real deal. I had been waiting for this moment my whole like. After we came out of the meeting to decide on our action there was not much else, we could do other than wait, so Dimitri took me back to his room, again no-one noticing because of the circumstances. 'Roza this is serious' he said, with a sombre look on his face. 'There is a very real possibility we will lose people, and it could be you are me. Please, if something happens to me, I want you to go on living. Forget about me and what we had and make yourself happy.'  
'Would you do the same for me?' I asked him.  
'I could never forget you Roza' he replied gently.  
'Well then there is your answer Dimitri. I couldn't live without you just as you couldn't either. I could survive for Lissa's sake and give my everything to her, but I would never truly live again.'

There was a silence as the words I said kicked in and I could see the passion swirling in his eyes, then he lent down and pressed his lips up against mine, absorbing me into his kiss, both of us forgetting all cares we had. He lent me down on the bed and pushed me so I was lying on my back. He moved on top of me and deepened the kiss. His hands were running up and down my side, sending shock waves throughout the whole of my body. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled his shirt up, needing it off. He stopped for barely a second and pulled it over his head before taking off mine as well and kissing me once more. The skin to skin contact felt amazing. This was it. I was finally going to lose my virginity and the moment couldn't have been more perfect.

We laid tangled up afterwards, his arms wrapped around me protectively. 'We will always have this moment' he whispered in my ear. Just then someone banged on his door, startling both of us. Thank god he had locked it. He shot out of bed and threw on a pair of joggers before opening the door. On the other side stood Alberta. I could see her, but Dimitri blocked her view into the room. She had a surprised expression on her face, probably because there was a topless Russian god stood in front of her. Her gaze was looking behind Dimitri though, directly at a pile of clothes, on which were my hot pink lace panties that had been taken off me and flung on the floor. Dimitri followed her gaze and wore a pained and embarrassed look on his face. She raised an eyebrow, but either she didn't know who was in the room or was willing to look the other way at this time of panic I don't know, but she just told him the group was gathering ready to leave, and walked off. I got out of bed as soon as Dimitri shut the door and quickly got dressed. I was wearing tight combat trousers, a black tight t-shirt, and my combat boots, so luckily, I would not need to change.

We met group 2, who would be going out of the academy and assembled together waiting for the briefing. I noticed a few other of my classmates, apparently, I was no exception, but then realised that whilst I had a stake, they did not. Alberta gave us a quick briefing, and we set off, walking in 3 groups of 10. As we walked out of the academy gates there were crowds of Moroi and dhampir students waving us off, one of which was Lissa who stood at the front. She gave me a weak smile. I could feel that she was so proud I was going to help, but she was also terrified she would lose me. I couldn't think about that now.

Although the Moroi students had taken a bus to avoid the sunlight, if we walked their directly, we could be at the Strigoi grounds in 40 minutes as we could take a direct route. As it was a long trek most people were silent, mentally preparing for what was to come, and I just walked directly next to Dimitri, occasionally catching his eye. All was quiet on our walk there, and had the circumstances been different it would have been a very nice stroll, but they weren't. Thankfully my mother wasn't in my group, so I did not have to deal with her, but she had left me alone thus far anyway, presumably not wanting to distract me, something which I was immensely grateful for. Once we were about a 10-minute run away from the building we stopped and all grouped together.

'We go in in waves' Alberta said, the group deathly silent and serious. 'We don't know how many Strigoi are in there, or how many Moroi are still alive, and there is the possibility this is a trap, so that being said, the main objective is to get you all back out alive. I don't want anybody being a hero and we just do our best.' I found the speech terrifying, mainly because there were so many unknowns here. We jogged the short distance to the building and created a protective circle around it, just as the light was beginning to come up. Dimitri and I were in the third group, so we just watched the first go in. Nothing happened. No-one came out and nothing could be heard, until suddenly shrieks became audible. At this point the second group went in, and suddenly a Moroi student came running out. She was grabbed by a guardian and taken away to a clearing that was secured. Gradually another 5 students came out and the same thing happened, but when the last one did, he shouted 'they need more in there, they're really struggling'. That was our signal. I locked eyes with Dimitri, and then Alberta, and we ran in.

I was immediately hit with nausea, but before I had time to process it, I was engaged in my first fight. The Strigoi was female and young, so whilst it was a challenge, I was able to kill her. I turned around and saw Dimitri fighting two Strigoi at once. He was really sweating and struggling, when a third Strigoi joined him in the fight. I began to fight my way through the guardians and Strigoi to go help him, but it took forever because of the close quarters. I saw a Strigoi get in a blow to his head, and he fell down. This was not happening. The Strigoi leant down and bit into Dimitri, pausing for a second before leaving him for dead and moving on to fight other guardians. I screamed but no-body noticed, they were all to preoccupied. I threw myself on the floor next to him, having finally made my way through the crowd. I reached for his wrist to check for a pulse but couldn't feel one. All words were lost and it felt like there was no-one in the room but me and him. I pulled him towards me and began running my hands over his head. There was one thing I could try. I had promised I would never do it again, but then I wasn't expecting this to happen. I reached into Lissa, and pulled all I could. I pulled and felt the magic surge into me. I placed my hands-on Dimitri, closed my eyes, and moved that magic into him. I felt a pulling sensation in my mind, but kept on going until the magic stopped. My heart felt like everything was overwhelming me. I gradually opened my eyes, praying he would do the same. Nothing was happening. Tears were streaming down my face. I suddenly noticed his eyelids flutter, and open. He looked into my soul, a look of fear on his face. It worked.

_I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Sorry its been a while updating, I've been busy at uni! Pleaseee review!_

_Molly_


	6. Chapter 6

The After Effect- Chapter 6

Hi guys, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I got an amazing response! Anyways, here you go!

'_He looked into my soul, a look of fear on his face. It worked.'_

I couldn't believe this had just happened. Had it really worked? What did this mean? He was dead. Like no pulse dead, yet now he wasn't. Did he come back to life himself? Or did I do it? My head was a mess, and I couldn't concentrate on anything but the two of us sat in the corner, whilst the battle raged on around us. The guardians seemed to be protecting us, but I really didn't notice. I reached into my mind, they way I did when I would check on Lissa and things felt very different. It was like there was another connection there. I pushed into it and was suddenly in Dimitri's head, feeling his thoughts. I pulled out in shock, and he jumped. Had he felt me do it?

He began to move around, checking himself for injuries, only to find none. He pulled me up off the floor, but I could do nothing but lean against him for support. 'We've got to go Roza' he shouted above the noise of the battle'. I couldn't do anything, I just stared. He picked me up in his arms, and began shouldering his way out of the small room, which was easier now, as the guardians were finally making some headway in the battle. We finally emerged and he ran towards the protective circle of guardians. He laid me down on the ground and took off his jumper, putting it under my head. I did nothing but watch.

'What happened' asked Alberta, sounding frantic  
'She got hit in the head' Dimitri replied, lying.  
'But there's no blood' Alberta countered back. Dimitri's eyes went wide at having been caught up with. 'She…she… I just can't say Alberta' he said with panic in his eyes. 'Something big is going on but if I tell you then I put her in danger and I can't do that to Roza. I need help Alberta' he whispered, yet it was loud enough for me to hear as they were leaning over me. I watched Alberta as she studied me. Her eyes suddenly stopped and went wide. Damn, had she worked it out? Then I realised she was staring at my hip, where my trousers had been slightly shifted whilst fighting, and my pink lace panties were on show. The same ones she had seen on Dimitri's floor earlier. 'I can explain' said Dimitri slowly, but she just shook her head.

'I don't need you to explain. If you tell me then I have a legal responsibility to do something, so not a word. I trust you Dimitri, and if you say something is wrong, well then I will help you.' She took another look at me lying on the ground. 'What do you need.'  
'We need to leave Alberta' Dimitri replied. She walked off and gave some orders to a nearby group of guardians, and then came back towards us. 'There is a car waiting in a nearby clearing 10 minutes from here. The keys are in, and you are free to take it. The cover story is that you got kidnapped by Strigoi and I have witnesses that will claim to see it, which means you both have to lie low. You can't be seen until you are ready to return. Do not hesitate to call me if you need anything' and with that she walked off. Dimitri picked me up off the ground, and carried me in the direction she told us. I still couldn't move my body, or speak, or do anything physical, but I felt fine in my mind, as if there was nothing wrong with me. I decided I would investigate the new connection I had with Dimitri, and so I pushed, exploring.

We reached the clearing and Dimitri laid me on the back seats, making sure to secure me in so I wouldn't get hurt on the journey, and he set off driving. We reached a road and he was still going at a regular speed. Surely, we should be going a bit faster, I thought to myself. Dimitri suddenly swerved off the road. Crap. What just happened there? 'I…I heard you Roza' he said out loud. 'I heard you in my mind. How is that possible?' I tried again.  
'I don't know Dimitri' I send through the bond. Again, his eyes widened in shock. This was not something I could do with Lissa. Was this bond even more powerful?

'It took a few weeks for all the effects of the bond to show through after the accident with Lissa' I sent. 'Maybe this is just a temporary effect I forgot about due to the stress of the accident.' I said that more for Dimitri's sake than mine. I was sure that it hadn't happened, but then again, I hadn't been paralysed and mute either. This was different. 'So where are we going comrade' I asked. I still couldn't get used to being able to communicate in his head. This was kind of like when Lissa sent me messages, but I had to be already in her head to get them, unless our connection was very strong for some reason. I wondered if he would be able to send them to me, as technically I was the spirit user in this scenario, however strange that was. 'Before you answer out loud, try sending it in your head' I told him. I waited a few minutes, but could hear nothing. Eventually he shook his head and spoke out loud, saying 'I can't do it Roza'  
'It's ok' I replied. 'It took Lissa and a while to master it too.'

'I'm taking us to Russia Roza' he said. 'My family knows a couple that were bonded, and I think they might be able to help'. I wanted to nod in agreement, but I couldn't. This was getting so frustrating.  
'Ok' I said. 'I really hope they can help; I'm already going insane'. He didn't smile. The joke probably hit too close to home considering spirit and its darkness.

We arrived at a small airport after a few hours in the car, of which I had slept most of the time. Dimitri picked me up and started carrying me towards a small plane. I could tell from being connected to his mind that he had called and booked us a private jet, to avoid the need for passports. It would take us a long time to get to Russia, but it did mean that it would be able to take us almost direct to Dimitri's home town. Once we were sat on the plane, which was very luxurious and I presumed had cost a lot of money, I began a conversation with Dimitri. 'We need to get a grip on this bond as soon as possible Dimitri. We can't simply wait to get used to it like Lissa and I did, there is too much risk involved with being on the run' I sent. He nodded. 'I want you to try and focus on me, but instead of focusing on me in person, focus on the feeling of me you have in your mind. You need to get into a meditative state, and when you feel completely relaxed and focused, push your mind towards me.' It had taken me a long time to learn to do this with Lissa, but if this bond was as strong as I thought it was, then he would have no problems. Whilst he was concentrating on doing the task, I put my feelers out to Lissa. She knew something strange had gone on, she could feel the tendrils of a new person in her mind, but she didn't know who, or what it was. She had also felt it when I had pulled the magic from her. I pulled so much, it had actually temporarily stopped her from having access to it, and she was only just feeling it come back to her, and was still unable to touch it. I felt bad for her, being so confused, and decided I would get Dimitri to call her when it was safe, being unable to do so myself.

I was watching Dimitri as he tried to complete my task, and after around half an hour I felt something shift in my head. It was so small that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't looking for it, but I knew he had got in, and was now seeing the world from my point of view. He slumped back in his chair, having managed the task. 'Well done' I said. 'Now try and communicate with me.'

I hope you all enjoyed that chapter, possibly my favourite yet to write! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and for staying with this story!

Molly


	7. Chapter 7

**The After-Effect chapter 7**

**Hi guys, sorry for the delay to updating this story, I gave you 2 chapters last week and exhausted myself! I also posted a little one-shot, so be sure to check that out and let me know what you think!**

'_Well done' I said. 'Now try and communicate with me.'_

He closed his eyes and lay back against the plush aeroplane chair. I didn't even know if this would be possible, let alone do-able in a very new bond, but as we were now on the run, it would be an essential tool to use. I stopped watching him after a while and began to watch the little tv. It was showing Twilight. How ironic. It was a good job it was him having to work things out, I would have never had the patience to try for as long as he had. I almost jumped when I felt a small tickle in my mind, as if he was there. It was much stronger than the one I had felt when he was simply seeing inside my head. I pushed towards it hoping it would help him, and then I felt the world open up. I was seeing things through his eyes this time.

I jumped back into my own mind, shocked, as Lissa had never been able to do anything like that, however much she had wanted to. I jumped for a second time when I heard a voice in my head. I would have turned around if I was able to move my body, but there was no-one there. I realised that the voice was Dimitri, it was just very faint. 'I can do it Roza' he said. I glanced my eyes back to him. He looked visibly tired from the exertion. 'So, we have established that we can speak both ways. Did you feel me in your mind earlier?' I asked. He shook his head. I wasn't surprised considering how hard he was concentrating. 'Well I can see through your eyes too, so the bond works fully both ways. I really am sorry Dimitri, I know how much of a pain it will be to you, but at least you won't have to see me have sex, as it will be you with me'. I blushed scarlet, realising what I had just said. He chuckled. If I had to pick to have a bond with anyone, it would be him. At least we were a couple so there wasn't as much privacy to breach anyway. I hoped some of the less attractive things he saw through my head didn't put him off.

He reclined his chair so that he was lying next to me and placed his hand on my cheek, stroking it slowly. 'I can't wait to introduce you to my family' he said.  
'Its going to be strange though, as I wont actually get to talk to them. It will just look like I'm your care dependent and I don't like that anyone has to look after me'. Losing my independence was actually on my list for one of the worst things that could happen to me. 'They will understand when I tell them the full story Roza' he reassured me. 'My grandmother Yeva might be able to help, and as I said before I'm sure that some of our friendly friends can'. We fell asleep then, passing the time on the long flight.

'I need you to call Lissa for me' I asked once I saw he had woken up, he had slept for a long time and the plane was descending into Russia. 'I can tell she felt what happened, and we need to explain it to her. Obviously, you will have to as I can't talk (this was getting really infuriating), but I can speak through your mind and you can relay it if that's ok?' He nodded. Once the plane, had landed in Russia he pulled out his phone, dialling Lissa's number.

'Hello?' she answered.  
'Princess, its Dimitri Belikov.'  
'Dimitri, hi! Where are you, is Rose with you?'  
'Yes, she asked me to ring, knowing that you realised something happened earlier.'  
'I did notice, she pulled magic from me didn't she. I lost contact to it for a while.'  
'Princess, I will explain it all in length another time but in short, I died and she brought me back. We have a bond.' I could tell through the phone that Lissa was shocked.  
'Why did you run Dimitri?'  
'People can't find out about Rose using spirit, there are so many bad outcomes to that. The other reason is that she is paralysed at the moment.'  
'WHAT?' screamed Lissa.  
'We think its something to do with the darkness and I will resolve it somehow princess please don't worry. We need to go now, but I will keep you updated when I can, and hopefully soon Roza will update you herself.'  
'Tell Rose I love her, and please keep her safe Dimitri'.  
'I will', and he shut off the phone. He picked me up and carried me off the plane. 'Welcome to Russia Roza'.

**I hope you guys don't mind the slightly shorter chapter this week, I've had a bit of writer's block and so I felt this was a good place to finish this chapter so I can start afresh next week, sorry **

**Molly**


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry for the long wait, I've had lots on, but have a bit of a gap between deadlines now! Enjoy._

Chapter 8

'Welcome to Russia Roza'

He picked me up in his strong arms and carried me off to a car that was waiting just next to the plane, and laid me on the back seat before jumping in the driver's seat. 'We have landed in Omsk' he said out loud 'and are lucky as because of the time difference we are here in the early morning to will be able to drive to Baia the full way safely in daylight'. I was going to ask why we had to drive in daylight, but I could feel the answer in Dimitri's head already as he thought back to a family friend that had once encountered Strigoi on the road.

The drive was quiet and I slept a good portion of the way, tired out from the experimentation with our new spirit bond as well as the traveling and use of magic. You would think I would be well rested with only being able to lie down, but it was the opposite. When I woke up, I could tell it was late afternoon from the weak winter sunlight. 'How far are we' I asked Dimitri.

'Not far now, about 20 minutes' he replied. 'I could tell when you were sleeping through the bond Roza, this is going to take some getting used to.'

'It took me and Lissa years' I replied, 'but hopefully it won't take us anywhere near as long. When can we go see the other bonded couple?' I asked him

'We can try go tomorrow' he said, 'but we may be too tired.

'I'm sick of being a dependant already' I said, genuinely frustrated.

I looked out the window for the rest of the drive. The sun was just beginning to go down, and so sent a warm red glow out onto the snowy surroundings, making it glisten on trees and the snow on the ground look warm and inviting. I had only been here less than a day and was already loving it. We pulled up to a house made out of wood that had a one-pointed slanted roof with snow on and wooden shutters on its windows. It looked old but cosy, and I could see a warm glow of a fire from within. This must be where Dimitri had grown up.

He took the keys out of the engine and opened my door, easily picking me up. As he did, a blast of cold air hit me and a gasped, a sound that actually came out of my mouth. I was shocked as it was the first noise I had managed to make, but then that shock turned to worry as I realised, I was about to meet Dimitri's family. He walked towards the door and it opened, the woman on the other side was smiling broadly.

He walked in and laid me on the sofa next to the fire. 'Mama' he exclaimed, rushing to hug her. It was obvious how much he had missed his family, and how much they had missed him. The rest of his family had formed a que to see him, but an old lady came pushing to the front. He turned to face her smiling, and she reached out her hand to his cheek, placing is softly. He had to bend down to let her do this, and I thought it was just the sweetest thing ever. The old lady's eyes suddenly widened and she puller her hand away in what appeared like shock. 'What is it?' he asked, but she just shook hear head and said one word. 'later'. She shuffled off and returned to whatever she was doing in the other room. Dimitri hugged the rest of his relatives in turn, and then sat down on the sofa next to my feet and placed his hand on my leg.

'This is Roza, everybody' he announced once they had all sat down. They were all smiling politely but I could tell they all had burning questions. 'She and I… well we're in love, and have been for a while now, but tried to resist at first. She was my student when we were at St. Vladimir's, and I was her mentor due to some… time away from training'. I was glad he had skipped over that part. He went over everything we went through up until I found I could access Lissa's magic through the bond. He completely skipped that part. 'We then fought in a large battle rescuing some students and teachers from the academy, and won, but I was taken down in the battle. Lissa Dragomir, who practices Spirit was one of the students captured, and so she brought me back from the dead, creating a bond between her, Rose and me. It is through this bond that me and Rose communicate at the moment. Roza did incredible at the battle, but was paralysed through Lissa forging the bond with me.' He was very careful not to spill any part of my secret. 'I will be taking her to see Mark and Oksana as soon as possible, to see if they have any advice.' His family were all shocked to hear the dramatic tale, but soon I saw sympathetic looks, and Olena even came up and stroked me on the cheek.

'We will be going to bed now mama' Dimitri announced, and then picked me up off the sofa. 'Say good night for me, and thank you very much for allowing me to stop in their home' I sent through the bond, and he did. As he carried me up the stairs I looked closely and the photos on the wall, some had a young Dimitri in, and I definitely wanted to see them later. He laid me down under the thick duvet in his bed after undressing me, and then slipped in next to me, wrapping his warm body around me. I felt safe and happy and warm, and if I could stay like this forever, I would have. 'good night Roza' he whispered into my ear, and placed a soft kiss on my neck.

'I love you' I replied.

_I hope you don't mind the slightly lower quality writing this chapter! It has taken me a really long time to write due to everything happening at uni, but I have finally finished it. Hopefully next chapter will be a bit more exiting so should come out quicker, but there we go! As always leave me a review if you can as it really helps to spur on my writing x_

_Molly_


	9. Chapter 9

The After-Effect chapter 9

I woke up to the sensation of someone stroking my hair. I was in a small room with a fire in the corner and in a big double bed and… and then I remembered where I was. I flicked my eyes over to Dimitri who was lying next to me watching. 'Good morning Roza' he said smiling. 'It's going to be a big day today'.

'I'm looking forward to it' I replied through the bond. I checked in with Lissa whilst Dimitri was getting me ready for the day. She was happy because she was with Christian and knew that I was safe, but she was missing me terribly. I missed her too. She was also insanely curious about what had been going on with the bond and wanted some explanations as to how she could feel another person in her head. It would have to wait until I knew, I thought to myself.

Dimitri took me downstairs when we were ready. 'Good morning Rose' his mama smiled at me. 'Will you want breakfast' she asked Dimitri. He shook his head.

'We're going to go straight to Mark and Oksana's'. She nodded but looked slightly concerned he was leaving the house without breakfast, it made me smile to see him being coddled by his mama. 'We'll go in the car Roza' he sent though the bond. 'We normally walk because of how bumpy it is but it's much quicker by car and less people to see us.' I clearly had quite the journey ahead of me.

After about 15 minutes of bumping along a track we finally pulled up and man was I glad. I had ben thrown about, and while I didn't normally get car sick, I was feeling rather queasy. Dimitri picked me up and we walked towards the door. He knocked, and a woman opened the door, her face breaking into a huge smile when she saw Dimitri. 'Dimka, how lovely to see you! It's been a long time'

'It has' he nodded. 'I've been in America for a while working at a school so I haven't been able to come home'. All of a sudden, her face changed. She looked worried. Was she really worried about him working at a school? Surely it was a pretty safe place to be? 'I wondered how long it would take you to notice' Dimitri said. What was I missing here? Then I remembered that she was a spirit user. I wondered if there was something in our auras. We walked in and Dimitri laid me on the sofa. 'There's no point really explaining she said to Dimitri, I already know the basics' she confessed. Now that was a spirit ability, I would have to tell Lissa about.

She turned to me. 'I'm Oksana' she said. 'I practice spirit and have a bond-mate just like you, he's just out in the garden at the moment but I'll call him in.' I expected her to go out and get him, but 30 seconds later he walked in. 'Hello, I'm Mark' he said, and he went to sit in a chair near me.

'You have a very black aura' Oksana said to me. 'I think that's what is causing the physical symptoms.' Dimitri nodded. That's what we had thought. 'I can try and heal away some of it, but I don't have full access to my power at the moment, and it will take such an incredible amount anyway. We could really do with the power of another.' She said thoughtful. And I had an idea.

I looked at Dimitri. 'Tell her I have powers' I said. He did. The look on her face was total shock.

'I've never heard of this before' she said quietly, clearly trying to wrap her head around things, 'but maybe it could work. If I go inside your head whilst you have the power, and then focus all of our energy on the healing then it might be enough.'

'Let's try it' I said through Dimitri.

I pushed into Lissa, and started pulling. At first, I felt a small trickle of Darkness that she had built up, but then felt the golden glow of magic. I kept pulling, not sure how much I needed, until a voice that sounded like Oksana's told me to stop. Everything then was out of my control. I felt the happy feeling as the magic was used and then closed my eyes, hoping it would work.

When I felt that everything had stopped, I opened by eyes slowly. Now to see if it had worked. I gingerly tried to move one of my fingers, and it moved! I then tried to sit up. Everyone was watching me but I was in a world of my own. It took such an amount of effort that I was panting, but I managed it, and swivelled so that I was sitting upright on the sofa. I had a huge grin on my face. I had finally got some of my independence back.

'How are the aura's looking' I croaked out to Oksana. My voice wasn't great but it was there. She concentrated and studied them. 'Yours is looking much better now' she said, 'but there is still a lot of darkness there. We will need another healing session. 'There is however, a very small amount in Dimitri now.' I was horrified. I didn't want him to have to deal with this. 'It's ok' said Oksana, noticing my face. 'It really is the smallest amount; he won't even feel it. We just have to be careful not to let it build up, and if it does, then you can always heal him.' I hadn't thought about that. Me being able to heal him, to check auras, to do so many things with spirit that I shouldn't be able to do.

'Thankyou so much' I said to Oksana as we were ready to leave, I was able to walk, but only with Dimitri helping me, and not for very long I imagined, but still, it was better than being paralysed. 'It's no problem' replied Oksana. 'Although it would be good if you could come again next week so we can get rid of the last bits.'

'Sure', I nodded. I hadn't planned on staying in Russia any longer than I had to do to get better, but it would be nice to be around Dimitri's family and he hadn't seen them for so long. It also allowed us to get to grips with the new bond better, before we had to pretend like it didn't exist and go back to St. Vlads. I could wait another week, and we headed back to the Belikov home.

I really loved writing that chapter, it's so great for Rose that she finally got her independence back! And it always intrigues me the many things that spirit can do. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, I have actually started a new story recently called 'Unplanned Miracle' so if you fancy giving that a read it would be fab! And please review to push me on further!

Molly


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I slept on the journey back to Dimitri's home, despite the bumpy road I was exhausted from moving, and using all the spirit I had wielded. I woke up to a soft kiss on my forehead and saw Dimitri smiling at me. 'We're home' he said. I was a little nervous, I hadn't actually spoken to Dimitri's family yet.

Dimitri helped me slowly walk to the door, holding my arm and giving me support. As we walked through, Olena came rushing forward going to my other side to help. By the time I got to the sofa I was out of breath and exhausted. This was going to me a long road to recovery.

Olena came back with a large homemade blanket and draped it over me, tucking me in and I felt so mothered and loved, a feeling I very rarely felt. I smiled at her. 'Thank you so much for everything you and your family are doing for me' I said, and held her hand, giving it a squeeze.

'It's no bother' she said, sitting down next to me and putting her other hand around mine. 'I have never seen my Dimka as happy as he is around you Roza, and I am so grateful for this, for you, and for this precious time with you both'. I was about to start tearing up. I could see Dimitri's features in her face as I studied her, and I was well and truly happy here, I felt at home and safe and loved, like I had a family. She stood up and went into the kitchen to start making some bread for supper, obviously sensing that I was getting emotional. A few minutes later however, she was replaced with Dimitri's aged and senile grandmother.

'Hello Yeva' I said, trying to be polite. She grunted. Yes grunted. 'How are you?' I asked, trying to make small talk.

'You need to go' she replied. Yeva clearly didn't share Olena's affection for me.

'I'm sorry?' I replied, trying my best to maintain my composure.

'You need to leave this household and go back to the school'. My education was certainly nothing for her to worry about. 'My education is fine thankyou Yeva' I said haughtily. 'I was way beyond my peers when I left, I'm sure I can catch up after a few months off'.

'No' she butted in. 'You are not listening to me. You must leave and go back.' I was going to start shouting soon if I was not careful, but then I saw Dimitri walk into the room. He had obviously heard the conversation from in the kitchen.

'What's the problem with Rose Babushka' he asked.

'She needs to go back to the school. And you do too' she said without much indifference. Was this about our relationship? Was she not accepting of the age? Or the fact we were both dhampir's? Dimitri looked slightly taken aback. 'Do you not approve' he asked quietly.

She sighed. 'It is not that I don't approve. I do, so stop seeking validation. But that is not the matter in hand. She must return, and she will need your support Dimka'. I was silently raging in my head. I didn't need someone else to lean on as a crutch (aside for obvious movement issues I was having currently…) and I sure as hell wouldn't be leaving because I was told to by some old… Dimitri stood up and interrupted my thoughts. 'We need to start getting you mobile and ready to train again before we can go back' he said.

'No-way am I doing what she says' I said raising my voice. I realised I probably sounded bratty, and the Belikov had welcomed me into their home and everything, but it just wasn't in my nature to accept demands from someone blindly. 'Calm down Roza' said Dimitri, looking frustrated.

'I will not calm down' I said actually shouting. 'This is ridiculous, I' and I was stopped by two words from Yeva.

'It's Lissa'.

'What's Lissa' I demanded. 'Is she in danger? Dimitri how soon can we get back? How do you even know this Yeva?' I was in full panic mode. Yeva didn't answer my question, and just skulked off as if our conversation never even happened. 'She saw it' Dimitri said, answering one of my questions, and I scoffed, suddenly feeling less worried. I didn't believe in any of that stuff and I wasn't about to start now, but however much I tried to convince myself of this, it still sat in the back of my mind that Lissa could be in danger. 'Maybe we should get ready to leave' I said to Dimitri quietly.

We started a rigorous physio and training routine that day. It completely exhausted me, but after 2 days I was seeing real progress. Dimitri was my rock, pushing me on when I lost faith and it was so lovely to curl up in his arms at the end of a long day and just cuddle in bed without anyone caring. I would miss this so much when we went back to St. Vlads. After a week I went back to Olena and she healed me again, pulling the last of the darkness away and making me stronger. Although I didn't see any physical benefits this time, I felt so much more optimistic and less tired, which showed me just how much the darkness was getting me down without even realising it.

After 2 weeks I was nearly back to normal. I still got tired a bit quicker than before all this, but it wasn't so noticeable and I just seemed unfit which I was working on. Dimitri got better at the bond too, learning how to slip into my mind easily, and communication was a very simple thing now, we had even tried it over distances and all was fine. We felt ready to return back to St. Vlads.

'You know things will be very different for us when we go back Roza' Dimitri said quietly when we were all cuddled up in bed, the night before we were due to leave. 'I know' I said, 'but at least we will be able to keep better track of each other and talk without risking anyone hearing' I said smiling. He just nodded and pulled me closer enjoying this one last night together.


End file.
